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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

"If Newton never told anybody about the law of gravity, if Edison would have only lit his own house, the world would have remained untouched by their brilliant ideas and minds. Powerful ideas of today are the true investments for a better tomorrow. Last December, we had partnered with the TEDxGateway Mumbai with this very belief."

When I read this on indiblogger.in I knew I had to watch the videos and the first one that I saw was so amazing I finally thought about writing it.

I watched a video by Cynthiya Koenig where she talks about a problem faced by many rural women in India - water hauling. Yes, something we as urban dwellers don't think about much but a problem Indian women across the country face when they have to provide for a basic necessity - water!

1 out of every 6 women have to haul litres of water on their head which leads to chronic ailments and what amazed me was that these women were spending a huge amount of their precious time doing just that - hauling water so that their family could have water to drink, cook, bathe, and even wash hands with.

According to the officials "The time spent fulfilling this basic need keeps many children out of school and prevents women from carrying out all the domestic and income generating work for which they are responsible. In much of the developing world, it is often necessary to walk five miles (8km) or more every day to fetch water. In the dry season, it is not uncommon to walk twice this distance. Collecting water can be dangerous too. The traditional method of carrying water – carrying a 5 gallon (20 liter) water bucket on the head – can severely damage the spine, causing severe pain and even leading to complications during childbirth. In some countries, walking to find water exposes people to the dangers of land mines."